UCLA Football: Transferring Defensive Commit May Visit 2 SEC Clubs After Offers

Will Chip Kelly lose an intriguing young piece before he arrives?

Freshman safety Marcus Ratcliffe, formerly of San Diego State, has technically committed to join your UCLA Bruins for the 2024 season.

However, it appears now that he's amenable to sniffing around two SEC clubs, per Greg Biggins of Bruin Report Online.

He certainly seemed invested in the program, as Biggins relays.

“I’m very excited to be a Bruin,” Ratcliffe said. “Now I can just focus on getting in to the playbook and developing this off-season so I can have a great sophomore year."

“I believe in the UCLA program and how coach (Chip) Kelly runs it. They will continue to have a great defense and I’m excited to be a part of that.”

“I want to try and visit both in January,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s a dead period starting tomorrow but when it opens back up in January, I want to try and get out and see both schools.

“I still feel good about UCLA and my commitment there and I’m enrolling in January. At the same time, I want to check out these schools and I’ll have time to do that before I enroll so the timing works.”

However, Biggins notes that Ratcliffe also got offers from Florida and Texas A&M on Sunday, and that he may explore those opportunities before making the jump to the Rose Bowl.

UCLA did just lose its star defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn to its cross-town nemesis, the USC Trojans, so it's possible Ratcliffe is a bit wary of committing to a team that won't commit to is area of expertise.